LLB248 Public Health and the Law
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | LLB248 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | LLB101 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $2,124 |
| Pre-2021 CSP student contribution | $1,663 The pre-2021 commonwealth supported place (CSP) contribution amount only applies to students enrolled in a course prior to 2021. To learn more, visit our Understanding your fees page. |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $3,204 |
| International unit fee | $4,368 |
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | LLB248 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LLB101 |
| Coordinator: | Sam Boyle | samuel.boyle@qut.edu.au |
Overview
The unit aims to develop students’ knowledge of public health law, drawing on present-day examples such as the COVID-19 pandemic, tobacco regulation, and mental health law. Students will develop knowledge of the history of public health law and the entities tasked with making public health interventions. The unit will then examine ethical and legal issues associated with public health measures, including the inherent tensions between executive power, individual rights and impacts on vulnerable communities. It will examine how these tensions play out in the Australian legal system.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Review the history, basic principles and impact of public health law (CLOs 1.1, 1.4).
- Analyse ethical, cultural, legal and global considerations relevant to issues in public health (CLO 1.1, 2.3)
- Critically evaluate the ethics laws and regulations that are relevant to Australia’s public health law policies and responses to health emergencies (CLO 1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.3)
- Select and use appropriate research methodologies to identify and evaluate primary and/or secondary resources (CLOs 3.1, 3.2)
- Concisely communicate ethical and legal concepts, critical analysis, arguments and supporting evidence (CLOs 4.1, 4.2)
Content
The content of this unit includes a range of selected topics such as:
- History of public health law
- Public health law ethics
- Executive power during public health emergencies like pandemics
- Mental health law
- Tobacco and alcohol regulation
- Vaccination laws
- Coroner's investigations
Learning Approaches
This unit adopts an active and collaborative learning approach and uses an on-line, self-led learning practice and live workshops to develop an understanding of public health law, particularly as it relates to health emergencies such as a pandemic.
Your participation in the unit will include:
- Engagement with online materials that you will work through in your own time to develop your understanding of key concepts.
- Weekly independent preparation for modules that includes reading materials and reflecting on workshop learning activities.
- Weekly workshops where you will discuss the unit content with the class and share your understandings.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You are provided with formative and summative feedback to assist your learning throughout the semester, through:
- Individual feedback provided on assessment, together with the completed Criteria Referenced Assessment (CRA) form
- Any generic feedback posted on the unit's Canvas for assessment
- The option of consultation with a member of the teaching team
You should reflect upon the feedback on your assessment in this unit (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Canvas) for the purpose of identifying:
- gaps in your knowledge and understanding of public health law
- strategies to improve your written communication skills in further assessment
- areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB, including legal research strategies
Assessment
Overview
Assessment in this unit is both formative and summative. Assessment items are designed to develop your professional skills in critical thinking, problem-solving and communication. In this unit, students are graded on a scale of one to seven.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Policy Report
You will be presented with a particular ethical or legal issue in public health. Acting as a policy officer, you will undertake ethical and legal research on this issue and produce a policy report that reviews and critiques the law in this context.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Examination
End-of-semester examination covering the topics from the unit. It may involve problem-solving questions and/or essay-style questions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Most of the topics covered will have a set reading from the prescribed text.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Belinda Bennett and Ian Freckelton (eds) Australian Public Health Law: Contemporary Issues and Challenges (Federation Press, 2023).
Recommended text(s)
Lawrence O Gostin and Lindsay F Wiley, Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (3rd Edition, UCAL Press, 2016)
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2025, Online
| Unit code: | LLB248 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | LLB101 |
Overview
The unit aims to develop students’ knowledge of public health law, drawing on present-day examples such as the COVID-19 pandemic, tobacco regulation, and mental health law. Students will develop knowledge of the history of public health law and the entities tasked with making public health interventions. The unit will then examine ethical and legal issues associated with public health measures, including the inherent tensions between executive power, individual rights and impacts on vulnerable communities. It will examine how these tensions play out in the Australian legal system.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Review the history, basic principles and impact of public health law (CLOs 1.1, 1.4).
- Analyse ethical, cultural, legal and global considerations relevant to issues in public health (CLO 1.1, 2.3)
- Critically evaluate the ethics laws and regulations that are relevant to Australia’s public health law policies and responses to health emergencies (CLO 1.1, 1.4, 2.1, 2.3)
- Select and use appropriate research methodologies to identify and evaluate primary and/or secondary resources (CLOs 3.1, 3.2)
- Concisely communicate ethical and legal concepts, critical analysis, arguments and supporting evidence (CLOs 4.1, 4.2)
Content
The content of this unit includes a range of selected topics such as:
- History of public health law
- Public health law ethics
- Executive power during public health emergencies like pandemics
- Mental health law
- Tobacco and alcohol regulation
- Vaccination laws
- Coroner's investigations
Learning Approaches
This unit adopts an active and collaborative learning approach and uses an on-line, self-led learning practice and live workshops to develop an understanding of public health law, particularly as it relates to health emergencies such as a pandemic.
Your participation in the unit will include:
- Engagement with online materials that you will work through in your own time to develop your understanding of key concepts.
- Weekly independent preparation for modules that includes reading materials and reflecting on workshop learning activities.
- Weekly workshops where you will discuss the unit content with the class and share your understandings.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You are provided with formative and summative feedback to assist your learning throughout the semester, through:
- Individual feedback provided on assessment, together with the completed Criteria Referenced Assessment (CRA) form
- Any generic feedback posted on the unit's Canvas for assessment
- The option of consultation with a member of the teaching team
You should reflect upon the feedback on your assessment in this unit (both your individual and generic feedback as provided on Canvas) for the purpose of identifying:
- gaps in your knowledge and understanding of public health law
- strategies to improve your written communication skills in further assessment
- areas for improvement for future studies within the LLB, including legal research strategies
Assessment
Overview
Assessment in this unit is both formative and summative. Assessment items are designed to develop your professional skills in critical thinking, problem-solving and communication. In this unit, students are graded on a scale of one to seven.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Policy Report
You will be presented with a particular ethical or legal issue in public health. Acting as a policy officer, you will undertake ethical and legal research on this issue and produce a policy report that reviews and critiques the law in this context.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Examination
End-of-semester examination covering the topics from the unit. It may involve problem-solving questions and/or essay-style questions.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Most of the topics covered will have a set reading from the prescribed text.
Resource Materials
Prescribed text(s)
Belinda Bennett and Ian Freckelton (eds) Australian Public Health Law: Contemporary Issues and Challenges (Federation Press, 2023).
Recommended text(s)
Lawrence O Gostin and Lindsay F Wiley, Public Health Law: Power, Duty, Restraint (3rd Edition, UCAL Press, 2016)
Risk Assessment Statement
There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.